It starts with an email: instructions, a time and an address, a location behind a door with a green light. You’ve been invited by Ray Jones, a “businessman”; he’s looking to expand his team and you’ve stumbled upon a very unconventional interview. It seems simple, if not entirely legal: find the drugs he’s hidden and dispose of them before the cops roll in. If you do, you’re in; and if you don’t, well, everyone likes a good set-up. Welcome to Stashhouse; it’s about to be the wildest hour of your life.
Formed in 2018 by Don DeLeon and Tommy Honton, Stashhouse is the culmination of series of immersive theatre shows/games called Street Baptism, a wickedly clever marketing campaign that details the rise of Ray Jones as he grows from anxious street dealer to powerful kingpin. Stashhouse itself, while billed as an escape room experience, is far beyond the conventions of the genre. Beyond arguably the best use of space in an escape room, Stashhouse is uniquely suited for experienced players, with multiple concurrent challenges and a myriad of secrets to discover as the narrative of the world unfolds around you. There is a beautiful blend of character interactivity, innovative puzzles, and a dark comedic undertone that solidifies this as an experience that’s evolved far beyond the norm.
Stashhouse explodes with a frantic urgency: the time limit is not for escaping the space, but to find the tiny drug packets scattered throughout it before escape becomes impossible. In this sense, it functions almost like a video game: individual goals and rewards culminating in group success. Each participant has an opportunity for a new experience, a new helping hand to lend their “crew.” The challenge will obviously appeal to seasoned escape room enthusiasts, but newcomers to the genre will find that Stashhouse provides such a broad spectrum of puzzles, and is so well-designed, that there’s a role for everyone. As such, there are multiple different paths players can take to aid the misson; you will never end up waiting for a singular puzzle to unlock your next step, such is the non-linear nature of the experience. The room is certainly suited for veteran players, but every skill level has an opportunity to participate, and the creators of Stashhouse provide a thoroughly modern lifeline to assist in emergencies. By the solution to the final puzzle, every team member will have served a vital road in the groups success, or failure.
Stashhouse is a brutally clever, raw approach to the ever-growing escape room community. DeLeon and Honton portray a deep respect for the genre and immersive theater in general. Their shockingly fresh approach is hopefully the beginning of a long and storied presence in Los Angeles for the pair. The space feels lived in; it is decorated with such attention to detail that the personality of Ray Jones, bolstered by an initial encounter with the man himself, is readily apparent. You get the sense that Ray has evolved into the man that would test his potential business associates in such a menacing way. The puzzles he’s created vary: involving logic, numbers, music, and tactile responses in such a way that participants can ve confident that Stashhouse not only pays homage to the escape rooms that came before it: it re-defines them.
What DeLeon and Honton have done here is remarkable: an accessible, witty experience that requires both individual and group effort to complete, all within a space that is so innovative and well-constructed it must be seen to be appreciated. Ray Jones lives and breathes within these walls, just as he does in front of you, daring you to go beyond any escape room you’ve done before. It’s tough, it’s intriguing, it’s intelligent, and most importantly, it’s just fun. Stashhouse reconstructs and expands on this genre’s potential and rises far beyond the “escape room” moniker as a result. Consider the envelope pushed.
Find more info and to visit Stashhouse and an upcoming remount of Street Baptism on their website. You can also follow them on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
For more upcoming events, including ticket links, see the Immersed calendar.
